It's been a very busy week this week with Middle School experiencing the wonders of week without walls and discovering new places and most importantly growing as people from the new challenges they have faced. For the Elementary School this week saw the 3 Way Conferences where teachers, students and parents shared the students learning. These close links between home and school have a huge impact in enable students at ISS to grow and develop.Next Friday sees a chance for Parents and Teachers to meet in a social setting at the PTA Quiz Night. It should be a great event and I hope many of you can attend.Unfortunantly I will not be able to be at the Quiz Night as I shall be out of school from 24th November to 2nd December serving on a CIS accreditation team to Al Batinah International School in Oman. The Paterson Campus will in the capable hands of Ms Skrtic and Mr Taylor during my absence.Another chance to meet with members of the school community is on November 30th,at Preston Campus, at 6.15pm where you are invited to join the ISS School Board for an informal reception prior to the Festival Of Lights performances. The Festival of Lights is due to start at 7pm and it showcases our music students in Grades 9-12.This is an opportunity to get to know Board members and to learn- in an informal environment about the work of the board and the projects they are championing.As we intend catering this event, please RSVp to Sally Choy, sallychoy@iss.edu.sg if you will be attending. Both this event and the Festival of Lights are open to all members of the ISS Community.Next semester we will hold a similar reception in conjunction with a Paterson Campus event.

Elementary School NewsIt was great to see all of our students and parents attend the 3 Way Conferences on the 16th. This is a wonderful opportunity for students to actively engage in discussions on their learning with both their parents and teachers. While we have three scheduled conferences in the school year, please remember you can always visit your child’s class blog to follow along on their learning journey or contact the teacher with any questions.

Pyjama Day Friday 25th NovemberThe Elementary School will also be supporting the Singapore Food Bank via Pyjama Day on Friday. Students who pay a $2 donation or donate food can come to school on Friday in pyjamas. Students can bring their $2 or food into their class teachers from Wednesday onwards. I am very pleased to say that this initiative is the result of the work of our Student Action Leadership Team (SALT) and is great example of our youngest students taking action to make the world a better place.

Elementary School Concert Friday, 9th DecemberThis is to inform you that all ES students will be participating in the Performing Arts Concert on Friday, December 9th at 6:30pm. The venue for this year's concert will be the Anglo Chinese School, 121 Dover Road, Singapore, 139 650.

Middle School NewsThe build up is so big, the excitement and expectation is so real and then before we know it Week Without Walls is over for another year! That is our reality as this blog post goes out. All the trips have returned and the tales of adventure, new experiences, new friends and a broader perspective about the world have returned with the students (and the teachers!). If you missed out on the comings and going of the wonderful times, you can always refer to msweekwithoutwalls2016-17.weebly.com and relive everyday. The password was sent out via ManageBac at the beginning of the week. A huge round of applause for the teachers. The effort, commitment and generally going the extra yard to make sure your children are safe and getting the best possible depth of education is nothing short of wonderful. Well done ISS teachers!

Great to see some many familiar faces at the Japanese Parent evening on Wednesday of this week. Once again thank you Miho Tsumura for sharing all your insight and knowledge of life and learning at ISS. In the upcoming week ISS will host the Korean Evening on Tuesday 22nd November.

Back to business as usual on Monday. We are only four (4) weeks out from end of Semester Two and the time is going to fly. Big ticket items over the next few weeks are ‘Into the Woods’ auditions on Thursday December 1st, the Christmas Concert performance at the Eurasian Association on Sunday 11th December, the Service as Action day for all MS students on Thursday 15th December and that Semester Two reports go out also on Thursday 15th December. Inter mingled with all this are the PTA Trivia night (Friday 25th November), the Festival of Lights at Preston Campus (Wednesday 30th November) and the Elementary School Winter Concert (Friday 9th December). Busy times!